Library Help - Amman, Jordan (ACS)

Although I was on vacation in Amman, Jordan, I decided to help sort books in the school's library. This  seemed like a fairly simple task at first but when I started I definitely saw that it was a bit of a challenge.  I worked collaboratively with one of the librarians who had been very busy that day. She showed me how to classify and sort the books. Once she explained to me how to do it I felt very confident in doing this, I actually almost asked for a new task that was a bit more challenging. I soon learned that this was a challenge enough and it forced me to really evaluate my strengths and weaknesses. Sorting books seems simple but is actually quite meticulous and can be difficult. I'm very keen on having things neat and organized so obviously this was a nice challenge for me. Once I got the hang of it the sorting started to go by faster and faster. I showed my perseverance and undertook a new challenge by asking to work on sorting books that were a bit more difficult. This was more of a challenge for me but I liked it. While I was sorting I noticed that a lot of books had been put out of order so I attempted to rectify the situation. At first I was very sure that this was all right to go ahead and fix it but once I had considered the implications of my actions I then realized that I shouldn't change everything without her knowing. Although I was sure that it was out of order I wanted to let the librarian know that I was going to sort the shelf as well.

Although it was only for a few hours, and the task wasn't as demanding as it appears, this activity did actually help me to consider not only my progress in certain areas but also others. I was a guest in their school, in a new environment, so I had to stop and think about the way that their school operates and think about the consequences if I had done something wrong or had changed something that they were used to. I know that there are times when I can see an easier way of sorting things or organizing things but I did also realize that it wasn't my place to change up the system. This task wasn't extremely difficult but did test my ability to think on my own and pay attention and learn patterns quickly. It really helped me a lot and I'm sure the library benefitted from my efforts as well. 

Reflection of Semester

     

CAS Semester Reflection

        This semester I feel like I was very productive in CAS and I learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses while participating in my various activities. I have learned to identify and overcome my weaknesses and to identify and increase my strengths in certain areas. I've been working with creative writing and I believe that the goal I set for myself was a bit high but I have realized where I can work and what I can do and I decided to mold my skills to the activity I am doing. I have pushed myself in different activities such as RCCI and my creative writing.

       My action program should have had more substance and more concentration because I feel like that is the part that I am struggling with the most. Incorporating that consistent action schedule is something I plan to work on over the April break. I have started a workout routine with my mom but I feel like it could have more structure and discipline. My other activities have helped me to realize many different things. This workout routine has helped me to undertake new challenges and work collaboratively with others this semester. Whenever I found a new strength I wanted to persevere and do it more. The key part is actually getting up to do it. I have found that when I am involved in my activities that I really get enveloped in it and normally spend a lot of time on it. With my creative writing this was the case, whenever I started writing I got really into it and wanted to make whatever I was writing perfect, to my standards at least. I have shown perseverance in many of my CAS activities especially in RCCI. RCCI and yearbook as also helped me to do this because I had started working in areas that I was previously unfamiliar with or, in the case of RCCI, a program that I had only worked in for a short while. 

       RCCI has helped me to realize issues of global importance as well as where my strengths and weaknesses lie in this type of situation. I have always had a passion for helping people in general but mainly children and young adults of all kinds. Getting involved with this problem that is occurring not only in Sri Lanka but worldwide has helped me to open my eyes when I think about supporting different causes such as being communicably impaired or any kids/adults dealing with other disabilities. This program has taught me that even though the kids are out casted by society in most cases that doesn't necessarily mean that there’s something "wrong" with them. When discussing this program with others they normally don't understand why I like it so much but I feel like it's a great opportunity to learn something new about someone that doesn't normally get the attention they deserve. Many people have stuck up their nose at this program because the kids have disabilities that make them different from us but I believe that doesn't matter and RCCI has helped me to realize that and want to get involved and support these kids. 

        Looking back on my time in RCCI I have seen that I really care for the kids that we are involved with because most people wouldn't give them the time of day because of their disposition. This is a common occurrence in many countries, not just Sri Lanka, and it has helped me to not only see it for myself but to rethink the way I treat people and consider the ethical implication of my actions.  Overall this semester has been a great one for CAS because I feel like I've accomplished a lot more than I have in the previous semester. I feel like I undertook new challenges better and I learned a lot from the activities that I was in. I think I learned a lot about myself as well as others and this has pushed me to persevere and work more with what I've been doing and maybe in the future I will break out of where I am now and pursue something a bit more challenging once I get my footing here. I am still learning and look forward to learning more in my coming years, not only when I'm in school but when I have gone to university as well and so on.  

Easter

This weekend I worked collaboratively with mom and other event members of the American Embassy in order to prepare for the 2013 Holiday Part for Easter. For this event I helped plan and initiate events such as a photo booth and the Easter egg hunt. On Saturday before the party my mom and I made different props for the photo booth. We were previously going to make a cut out of a instant film strip that would act as a frame for the families but we decided against it but it worked out well in the end. To prep the photo booth I set strung banners across the trees where the photos would be taken and I laid out the props for everyone. For the props we created mustaches, bow ties, and bunny mouths. The photo booth idea was a success and all the families seemed to love it. My mom was in charge of taking the photos of the families while I helped set up the egg hunts and other events. All of the events that took place were very successful and the kids loved them all. This gave me a sense of accomplishment because they had so much fun with everything and this is something that I really like doing and so it was a great experience.

Dylan and I setting up the photo area

The Schuler Family and Our Props

Me My Mom and My Brother

RCCI Party

Today was the RCCI party and this was a very exciting and rewarding event because I got to spend more personal time with the kids. Most days that we meet with the RCCI group the boys and girls are normally separate so I only really got the chance to hang out with the girls and I didn't really get to see the boys and talk to them or play with them. I worked collaboratively with my group mates to plan and initiate this event and helped to buy/serve food and set up the sitting/dancing area for the kids. Before they arrived we set up the tables and chairs for the food and moved the tables out of the way for the dance. When the kids arrived they seemed very excited but shy to dance. This helped me to consider ethical implications with the kids and dancing because I realized that some of the children were very shy or weren't used to dancing in the same style that I or most of my group mates would. I realized that even though there was a bit of a gap in communications, I tried to make up for it in dancing and laughing and having a good time. Normally I'm very shy about dancing in public and especially around people I don't know because I am probably the worlds worst dancer but for me this helped me to undertake a new challenge and helped to push me out of my comfort zone. I started dancing with the kids despite my embarrassment and lack of skill and I encourage them as well as others to dance and have a nice time.

The one thing that everyone seems to have in common is they like to have a good time and dancing is a good way to share that common ground. Most of the kids warmed up to us and started to dance more and laugh and socialize with each other. There was one little boy that I was dancing with that would try to mimic me, I saw him having so much fun and laughing that it made me feel accomplished because I had made his time there a bit better because he had someone to dance with. The little things like that is what makes me love doing service like this. I love kids and I love to have fun and help them and put smiles on their faces, even if it means I have to look silly for a while.

Overall it was a very rewarding experience and as usual it was my favorite part of CAS. Spending time with the kids and letting them have a good time and be able to come here and have a carefree time and just dance and laugh is a great experience and I look forward to doing more events like this in the future because I think it's one of the things that I have the most fun doing. 

Creative Writing 2: I Am The Doctor

It has been a while since I last posted a creative writing piece because it has taken a long time to actually sit down and write something that is substantial. In the past weeks I had planned and initiated times to sit and work on my writing and I had actually started a couple of small pieces but it wasn't what I wanted to really write. I liked the prompts but I felt like they didn't show my skills in writing. I decided to make my own prompt for a poem about the popular television show Doctor Who. Doctor who is a British science fiction about a time traveller (also known as a Time Lord or "the Doctor") that travels throughout time and space in order to save the world from various disasters caused by aliens and other lifeforms unknown to mankind. This piece is a poem about the Doctor and Rose (his human companion who he falls in love with). I wanted to write the poem in Rose's voice and try to portray her thoughts and feelings. Although it is just a TV show, it's more meaningful to me than just an entertaining show. I have written this poem about a specific topic in order to show perseverance with my writing and help me to push myself out of my comfort zone and develop new skills based on the areas I felt needed improvement.

This is one of my longest poems I've written. It is about 60 lines and is 10 stanzas long.

                                                    Rose and the Doctor (Source: tumblr.com)

      I’m The Doctor

Waiting within the shadows in places time has forgotten

I’ve been waiting to see the sun for so long

wishing to see you in the light of the dawn

Underneath it’s golden glow you radiate, a sight like no other

With eyes that burn bright like stars you draw me in deeper and deeper

Oxygen fills my lungs and I come to life again

I open the doors and thrust my hand out into the black

Squeezing at the darkness hoping to find something

A vast galaxy waiting to be explored

Shadows surround me and I sink deeper inside

I’ll wait until I see the glow of the sun again

I am nothing… just defeated by the darkness

A child, born from darkness and light, finds me here

The Lonely Angel* strays and makes his way into my darkness

He hides here with me deep in the shadows

We talk but can’t see… we laugh but can’t hear

The shadows have taken this place over

But the light begins to break through and shines under my door

Where are we going now?

As we’re shooting across the galaxy, machines buzzing

clocks roll backwards and forwards as we hit every constellation

as if we were connecting dots in the sky, trying to map out a trail

We attempt to read them and understand their meaning

So many shapes to be formed but the lines can’t be drawn

So many messages to be written but the words can’t be found

I gather all my things and throw them back in the TARDIS*

These walls wrap around us like a fortress and protect us from darkness

The walls breathe and think for us, they allow us to speak

Our voices are hoarse from not being used for so long

Our fingers are numb because they haven’t felt for centuries

We fly suspended in time until we land in a new world

until we open the doors and walk on soil older than we are

We fly all over the galaxy like we’ve done it a thousand times before

But at the end of the day we still don’t know what lies beyond those doors

A doctor, a great traveller, you fixed this heart

When all my pieces were scattered across the universe

you travelled back in time, orbiting around a black hole to retrieve them

You always came when I called and gave me care that I’ve never known

I took comfort in these great big walls; this blue box* will become my home

because life outside still remains a mystery as we fly across this…

wibbly wobbly… timey wimey…stuff

Legs shake as we have our first dance across time

We travel in and out of time and space itself, falling through the cracks

I want to travel across the skies but I only want to travel with you

I want to connect the stars and read you their meaning,

catch every one and give them all to you

because you are my light in this dark time and I don’t have much

but these small suns I pick up along the way I’ll gladly give to you

Because you’re my doctor

and you make me better… you make me want to change

I want to wake up every morning in the sky and ask where we’ll go today

I trust you always and completely, my life now lies in your hands

Wherever you travel I want to be by your side

Whenever you fight I will fight right next to you

Because there is no time that we can’t find,

no space in which darkness can hide,

no galaxy that is too complex or to wide,

nor a crack in the universe that can keep me from your side

I will travel through time and space if it means I can see you tonight

If I can hold you in my arms and tell you that everything will be all right

1. The Lonely Angel - the name they give the Doctor 

2. TARDIS - Time and Relative Dimension in Space (time machine)

3. The blue box - the TARDIS that is in the form of a blue police box 

TARDIS  (Source: wikipedia.com)

Reflection on Action/Creativity

This weekend it was very chaotic but and although we didn't stick exactly to our schedule my mom and I got our action time in. On Saturday we didn't get to go on our walk but I stayed home and I worked out for about 30 minutes; it was all the time that I could take. I had to work on my art pieces for my exhibition so I set a goal to try and move around as much as possible. I stood up and I walked around whenever I wasn't working on art. This was beneficial because not only did it help me to be more active in a sedentary activity, it helped me to get more creative with my piece. Walking around helped me to think and reflect on my piece. After this I helped my mom to bake for a birthday party that was going to take place on Sunday. 

Sunday morning I woke up and started baking with my mom. We both met our goals; we stayed up on our feet for about 3 hours and moved around and we also resisted eating any cupcakes although we did have to test our frosting. Making frosting was a new challenge for me. I had never made frosting on my own before so my mom helped me to develop this new skill and I found that I wasn't bad at it. Not only was this an active process it was also very creative. We decorated the cupcakes and my mom and I worked together to create a personalized cake for the birthday girl. Because cooking is a passion of mine, this activity was helpful because I plan to study the culinary arts when I go to college. This activity, although small, helps me to persevere and show commitment to this decision. 

The walk that was scheduled for Monday was missed because both my mom and I were extremely busy with taking care of assignments as well as my brother. By the time we had both finished with our work it was too late to go out and we were both extremely exhausted. Although it wasn't a planned physically active day we both were running around a lot and had been up and moving for the whole day. My mom and I both looked after my brother and that involved carrying him and walking around to try to get him to sleep. We did manage to get a substantial amount of exercise in our days but we didn't get it in the way that we had hoped. 

My goals for next week are to get outside more and walk around. I have an art exhibition coming up so I will try to be as active as I possibly can and keep myself moving. I definitely want to get started on our walks and challenges because I would like to show more commitment in those areas because they're important to me. 

Activity Schedule #1

After reevaluating our situation, m y mom and I have worked collaboratively together and have devised a new plan of action. We have decided to pick three days to do our walks: Monday, Saturday, and Sunday. In order to persevere we have decided to incorporate some fun but effective "challenges" into our schedule. 

1. Baby Kissing (push ups): this is basically an exercise where you keep your legs up on a medicine ball (like in a push up position) and you come down and give the baby a kiss. The Challenge: Who can do the most kisses.

2. Hula Hoop: We own a weighted hula hoop. The Challenge: How long you can hula hoop.

3. One Minute Crunch:  In this exercise we lay out on our backs and elevate our legs up in the air and bend our knees with our palms laying out flat on the ground. The Challenge: Who can keep their legs up the longest.

4. Row Your Boat: For this exercise you sit on you butt/the small of your back in a 45 degree angle with your arms stretched out as if you were rowing a boat. The Challenge: Who can stay up the longest/time to beat.

SCHEDULE FOR THE NEXT WEEK

Monday March 18:

We will walk to Independence Square and time ourselves doing laps around the field they have there. We will also include our steps as well as well as the total time we spent out. From this will we will come home and make goals in order to beat our times that it took us to do the certain laps. We will also plan to persevere and push ourselves to do more laps. Some challenges may be included in this day.

Saturday March 16:

·      Because we have other plans today that interfere with our walking schedules we have planned to incorporate our activities into cupcake baking. No. We're not going to eat them because that would be counterproductive. We have planned to be baking for about three hours in total. Our goal is to stay up on our feet and be as active around the kitchen as we possibly can. We will be counting steps that we take in the kitchen as well as do the challenges. 

Sunday March 17:

·      Today will be the same schedule as Monday except we will be trying to beat our times and increase our laps.